Improvement in the construction of ordnance



2 Sh eetS--Sheet -1.

G. H. FERRISS.

Breech-Loading Ordnance.

NOV-42 ,571. Patented May 3, 1864.

T I R \R) K I (K V I :2 I Adm W Ll- Fig.5.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. H. FERR'ISS.

Breech-Loading Ordnance. v No. 42,571. Patented May 3, 1864.

f PETEis. FHOTO-LIYHDGRAFHEIL WASHINGTON, u C- i rrrcn.

GEORGE H. FERRISS, OFlUTICA, NEW YORK.

$pet-ilication forming part of Lott-eta Patent No. 412,5? ll, dated May It, 1854; antedated April it 156].

1'0 all 1071,0122 it may concern- Be it known that I, Gnonnn H. Fnmuss, of Utiea. in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loading Ordnance; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing-had to the accompaiug drawings, forming a part of this specification, and oi'which- V Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved breech-loading cannon; Fig. 2, an end view of the same with the breech-screw E and its supporting-nut D removed; Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal central section of my cannon with the loading-aperture in its breech closed by the screw-encircled recoilseat ll; Fig. 4, a top view thereof as it appears with the breech- ;serew E and recoil-seat E withdrawn from the breech and turned aside to allow the gun to be loaded. Fig. 5 represents a portion of the chase of the gun with some of the ineasingrings a a, &c., removed to illustrate the manncrot'scenring the same in place. Figs. 6 and T are end views of the recoil-scat E, showing the arrangement of the expanding double flange N titted thereon; Fig. 8 is a detached view in detail of portions of said expanding flange l\'.

Similar letters indicate like parts it] each of the drawings.

The objectot' my invention is to increase the velocity and penetrative power of projectiles byincreasing the mechanical force by which they are impelled from the gun; and to accomplish this object I have constructed a cannon, A, Fig. l, capable of containing a charge of powder atlcast equal to the weight of the projectile to be fired, and strong enough to withstand the expansive force of any charge which can be put:- therein. I

My improved cannon is built up of a central core or body of wrought-iron incased out-- wardly in heavy steel bands or rings.

In forming the metallic core B, Fig. 3, of

my gun I first forge bars of suitable lengths by welding together pieces of iron of differentqualities, commencing at one end with the soltest, adding others each harder than that preceding, and finally ending with the hardest quality;

and welded into solid disks of the diameter required, having the softest metal in their cen- Thesc bars'are then coiled up I ter. A sufficient; number thereof united into a solid mass by the well known process of jump-welding constitute the core.

I contemplate the use of bronze or other metallic alloys, either in the stead of the soft iron forming the center of the core or to precede the same in the order of gradation from soft to hard,which is to be obtained in the quality and temper of the mass. it is evident that this my improved mode of obtaining a solid metallic mass in which there shall beagraduation of temper and quality in a degree more or less uniform from its center outwardly is not limited in its application to iron alone, but may be employed in working up any character or description'of metals or metallic compositions'which admitof being used in the construction of cannon. By this myimprovcd method of forming and forging the core or body proper of the gun, the stretching-power of each layer of its substance is made to diminish in proportion to its distance from the center, and consequently from the point ofgreat,- est strain, and provision is thus made for the unequal expansion of the gun from center to circumference, the strain and expansion being, as is well known, always greatest in the center. The core B should be made of such dimensions as that the thickness of the metal surrounding the chamber in the gun shall be as nearly as possible uniform, and then gradually decrease as it extends along the chase. Upon the wrought-iron or otherwise metallic) body of my gun I drive heavysteel rings a a" a a a a a b, &c., Figs. 1, 3, and 4. The rings a to a driven uponthe chase ot' the gun, are securely held in place against the shoulder formed upon its, outer circumference, as illustrated in Fig. 3, by means of a series of iron key-rings, O O, &c., each divided at; one point and sprung into rectangular grooves so cut in the periphery of the chase as that the upper edge of each shall coincide with the outer face of the ring to be held in place. (See Fig. 3.) The iron key-rings O 0, turned to fit; accurately in the grooves, are of a thickness so far exceeding the depth of these grooves as to form a shoulder. A rabbet is cut; in the edge of the inner periphery of the next; succeeding steel ring, to receive the flange thus formed by the retaining key-ring, as is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. The last incasing-ring at the muzzle of the gun may be secured by a simple dowelpin, m, Figs. 1 and 3. The enlarged portion 'of the core B,whichineloses the chamber of the gun, tapers gradually toward the breech, and the steel incasing-ri n gs b to b. and c to c'-', driven thereon, are held in place by the outer ring, b, of the serics,which is secured thereon as appears in Fig. 3. Upon the ring I), which is driven and secured upon the forward part of the enlarged portion of the gun, I form'the trunnions G G for its support, Figs. 1 and 4, and, in order to make this trunnion-ring b,,it' possible, more firm and secure, place a projection or key upon the core 13 of the gun, which fits into a corresponding recess upon theinner periphery ofthetrunnion-ring driven thereon.

I do not limit myself in the manufacture of my improved cannon to the use of any determinate number or exterior form of incasingrings; but their number and form may be varied as convenience shall suggest, and, in fact, the gun constructed of coiled disks, as de scribed, may be used without incasing-rings, which are added merely out of abundant caution.

The superior strength (as compared with gunsof the usual forms and of equal weight) which I am enabled to obtain in my improved cannon by my new process of building upand forging the same enables me to use a much larger chamber therein than has heretofore been considered possible or safe, and I can thus insure the combustion of a. greatly-increased charge of powder in the gun in proportion to the weight of the projectile, increasing in a proportionate degree the velocity and penetrative power of such projectile.

The chamber K, formed in the breech of my improved gun, built substantially as described, is made at least one-sixth larger in diameter than the bore of the gun, and extends so far forward as that when closed by a proper recoil-seat. or breech-pin it shall be about in the center of the enlarged breech portion of the gun. The forward endot' this enlarged chamber K is made to taper with an ogee curve to the size required in the bore of the chase, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The rear end or mouth of the chamber is closed by a screw-encircled recoil-seat, E, secured to a proper breechscrew, 1), by means of a mortise-and-tenon joint, d, and pin a, passing through the same, as appears in Fig. 3. The screw-encircled recoil-seat E works into a. screw-perlbration formed to receive it immediately in the rear of the chamber K, and is necessarily larger than the bore of said chamber. The ends of the screw-threads upon the recoil -seat are squared, and a slot, at, Fig. 2, is cut in the lower portion of the screw-aperture, extending longitudinally across its threads, Fig. 3; hence any dirt or other obstruction which may collect in and foul the grooves of the screw is pushed and carried forward by the ends of the screw-threads until it drops intothe receivingslot a, Figs. 2 and 3.

An exp'ansive double packing-flange composed of a slitted outer casing, N, and a segmental inner casing, we 1 is combined with the inner end of the recoil-scat E by means of setscrews in such a manner as that the joints in the two casings shall alternate. The form of said casings and the manner (if-combining them with each other and with the recoil-seat E are clearly represented in Figs. 3, 6, 7, and 8 of the accompanying drawings.

It will be observed that the peculiar arrangement of the segmental portions we cc of the inner casing permits any one of them to be withdrawn and replaced without disturbing the remainder. This expanding packingfiange N, combined with the endof the screwencircled'recoil-seat E, ,f6rms the rear end of the chamber K, which contracts gradually to the depth ot'the flange N, so that as it is forced into place to close the end of the chamber it is compressed and made to, fit tightly therein. The edges of the segmental portions 0 e forming the inner casing of the packing-flange are so beveled outwardly as to cut away all accretionsor fouling upon the sides of the chamber so far as they enter it. The expansion of -the double packing-flange X under the in-' fluence of the discharge of the gun will, in connection with the ,mode by which it is held in place, form a complete gas-check. By withdrawing the pin .z-,by which the recoil-seat E is secured to the breech-screw E,- the recoilseat may be quickly. removed for repair or carried away to render the gun useless. The breech-screw E, which I design to make smaller in diameter than the screw-encircled recoilseat E, is supported in a screw aperture formed within a pivoted nut, I). This nut is pivoted and supported between two projecting arms, c and c, in a vertical plane coincident with the axis of the gun, (see Fig. 2,) and its rotary movement is arrested at pleasure by means of a pin, ll, inserted through an aperture in the upper arm, 1:. The lower arm, 0', may be formed in one piece with the outer ring, b, which is screwed upon the breech of the gun; but Isecure the upper arm, 0, in place upon the ring b, opposite to the arm d, by means of a serrated beveled joint, as seen in Fig. '4. The breech-screw E is turned backward and forward by means of the crank F, Figs. 1, 3, and 4. The pitch of the threads of both the breech-screw E and recoil-piece E is coincident and uniform.

The charge of powder in the enlarged chamber K of my improved gun should be fired in the center of the mass. To obtain this end, I screw a metallic vent-tube, L, Fig. 3, into the front face of the recoil-seat E, in the center of its projecting packing-flange X. This tube is long enough to reach the center of the chamber K, and communicates outwardly, by an oblique aperture, 1', with an opening formed upont-he periphery of the recoilseat, in the rear'ot' its screw-threads. Into this opening a fnlminating friction tube or primer is inserted. The vent-tube may be quickly unscrewed, removed, and replaeed bya new one when it shall have become imperfect or unserviceable.

It will be observed that by igniting the powder at orncar the center of its moss I secure its entire combustion in the gun, and also a more rapid generation of its full expansive force, burningithe largestv quantity of powder in the smallest space of time, and obtaining thereby the advantage and superiority found in a short gun over a long one.

In constructing a cannon in which the bore of the chamber shall be much larger than that of the chase I prefer to open the same rearwardly, in order to avoid its rapid heating and to obviate all difiiculty in cleaning out the chamber, and have therefore described particularly abreeclrloading gun. I do not, howeveiyintend to limit my improvement in the manufact-are of cannon, as set forth, exclusively to those which open at the breech, but contemplate its application to all descriptions of heavy guns.

Having thus fully described my improved breech-loading cannon, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

tially as herein described, securely retaining.

said rings in their proper positions upon the core by means of key-rings sprung into grooves formed upon the periphery of the core, constituting retaining-shoulders thereon, substantially in the manner herein set forth,

The foregoing specification of my improvements in brecch-loadingordnance signed byine this 22d day of July, A. D. 1863.

GEO. H. FERRTSS.

In presence of J AMES T. B. COLLINS, D. O. MAeoMBER. 

